Embodiments of this disclosure generally relate to an aircraft, and more particularly, to a structure coupled to the aircraft that may be used to remove existing trusses and a floating archway ceiling to expand an overall look and feel of a cabin.
Referring to FIG. 1, an isometric view of a galley monument support 100 with trusses 108 is provided. The trusses 108 may include one or more triangular units constructed with straight members 114 whose ends may be connected to rails 140. The truss 108 may be provided in three dimensions with a lower section 110 of the truss connected to the monument 102 via tie rods 116. The truss 108 may include angular sections 112 that provide support to the lower section 110 of the truss 108.
The monument 102 coupled to the support 100 may be connected by a number of tie rods 116. The existing rails 140 may span the length of the aircraft. Cross bars 106 may be positioned along the length of the aircraft. The cross bars 106 may couple the rails 140 to the outboard rails 170. Ceiling panels 180 can be connected to the support 100.
FIG. 2 is a side view of the support 100 of FIG. 1. As shown, the trusses 108 may be connected to the rails 102 through the straight members 114. The angular sections 112 as well as the lower section 110 of the trusses 108 may then be coupled to the monument 102. The ceiling panels 180 may be arched which correspond to the angular sections 112 of the galley monument support 100.
In many aircraft, the monument 102 may be a heavy item. The monument 102 may tend to roll over under forward loading conditions. Trusses 108 may prevent these conditions for monuments 102. Trusses 108 may define the structure and therefore the interior of an aircraft. Current trusses 108 may limit the height of the monument 102 within the aircraft. Current archways may be fixed about the door centerline and create aesthetic issues since many main deck monuments, like galleys, may not reside symmetrically about the door centerline.
The trusses 108 may limit the height of the monument 102 within an aircraft and may be structurally inefficient. Accordingly, by removing trusses 108, there may exist the potential to add more seats within the aircraft. For example, the overhead area opened up by removing trusses may be used to store carts freeing up additional main deck space for seats or to add seats directly in the overhead space in the form of current 777 overhead crew rests.
Other benefits of removing trusses 108 may include reducing weight to the aircraft. Trusses 108 may weight forty to fifty pounds or more with four to six trusses 108 within each aircraft. The interior weight of an aircraft may be reduced by up to 150 lbs. Furthermore, trusses 108 may be expensive to produce and install within the aircraft. Finally, the use of trusses 108 may result in higher fuel costs than if they were not present.
As such, by removing the trusses 108, and using other components, the final product costs may be reduced. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a system and method that overcomes the above problems while enhancing the interior look and feel of the aircraft.